Tom B. Hancher, MD, Columbus, Texas
Texas Medical Association President
2001-2002
Tom B. Hancher, MD, was raised in Columbus, Texas, where he graduated from high school in 1964. He earned a BA in 1968 from The University of Texas at Austin, and received his medical degree in 1972 from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Hancher completed his straight medicine internship at Indiana University and his residency in internal medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. In 1976, Dr. Hancher started his practice of internal medicine and subsequently, geriatrics; he is board certified in both fields. On several occasions, Dr. Hancher has served as chief of staff of Columbus Community Hospital, and is director of the intensive care unit as well as the respiratory therapy department.
Dr. Hancher has a long history of involvement in organized medicine. He served as Colorado-Fayette County Medical Society's delegate to the Texas Medical Association from 1982 to 1994, when he became vice speaker of the TMA House of Delegates. He also was president and secretary-treasurer of the county society, and chaired the Small Districts Association.
Dr. Hancher has served on TMA's Board of Trustees since 1994. He has been a member of the Council on Socioeconomics, Committee on Manpower, and TMA Speakers' Bureau, and chaired the Special Committee on the Texas Physician Workforce. In 1997, he was elected speaker of the TMA House of Delegates.
Dr. Hancher is a fellow of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, and a member of the Texas Academy of Internal Medicine and the American Geriatrics Society. In 1999, he received the Colorado County Economical Development Corp. Award of Excellence.
In local activities, Dr. Hancher served from 1981 to 1984 on the Columbus Independent School District Board of Trustees. In May 1995, he was elected mayor of Columbus and served in that position until May 1999. Dr. Hancher also has served as a director of the Columbus Quincentennial Commission and presently serves as a director of the Columbus State Bank.
Dr. Hancher enjoys an active practice in Columbus (also known as "Paradise on the Colorado"), where he resides with his wife, Christine. They have three children: Heather Allison Thomas, Shannon Brooke Hancher, and Blake Thomas Hancher.
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